Interview with Circle The Wolves

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• Michelle (Lead Vocalist): Music has surrounded me my entire life. My father used to play in a country band. We used to sing every weekend in the living room with my mom and brothers. Even the members of the family that couldn’t really sing would sing. It was something I remember at a very young age. I developed my own liking of music listening to Diva’s like Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. Music always just came natural to me. I am not sure what I would be doing today if I wasn’t doing music. Music has really been the only thing I have ever wanted to do. I have a mild obsession with true crime; I could see myself solving cold cases if I wasn’t doing music. I know weird right!

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• When I am not playing music, I am usually being lazy and watching TV or promoting my music online and chatting with the fans that we have accumulated. I am always doing something that furthers getting my music out there more. I’m currently taking courses on how to get my music synced and so far we have one publisher that has signed our cover of Sia’s “Chandelier.” And our cover of Avril Lavigne’s “Unwanted.” We are slowly getting our music to the right people and listeners.

How long has your band been around?

• Circle the Wolves is a new group. We have been writing together for 1 year now. In that one year we have released one full album and 3 singles and have 4 albums ready to be mixed. Michelle and Corey have been co-writing music for over 10 years and Steven Johnson was an old friend of Corey’s. Originally Corey was going to work on music with Steve’s daughter. That didn’t end up panning out and Corey invited Steven to start coming by on Wednesday’s and invited Michelle in on the project. They ended up writing some amazing tunes and decided on the name Circle the Wolves.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

• We are based out of Edmonton Alberta Canada. The place we live I don’t think influenced the music. I think we just ended up pouring in all our ideas to create something unique. Steven loves Jazz and when he plays metal guitar, he ends up adding these wicked cool guitar parts that really brings the song to a different level of amazing. Then you have Michelle and her vocals. Growing up mainly singing pop. She ads melody lines that are meant to be over something not as heavy. Michelle’s pop influence really brings out commercial quality to the music. Then finally you have Corey Johnson that pulls it all together producing the song to the extreme adding strings, piano and more. When you blend the 3

together its simply magic. How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

• This is a bit of a funny story. Corey and I were talking about another artist that always uses Wolves and Storms and Darkness in all her songs. It got my brain thinking. I was like what should we call our new Wednesday project? I sat there and thought about it and I’m like what about Circle the Wolves. Honestly, I don’t know why or how that came out of my mouth, but it did. I then googled and checked if the name was taken. Nothing on google came up. I then searched on Spotify and no one with that name came up. We then messaged Steve asked if he was cool with Circle the Wolves for the project name and we ended up all loving it.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• Best show was at our good friend Ted’s bar Shakers Roadhouse in Edmonton Ab Canada. We made a homemade drop so that we could play video on the front and then when we came out with our 1st song “Existence” it would be a epic opening. It really was. We had hired dancers for the show as well. It just turned out amazing.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• Our favorite venue in Edmonton Alberta Canada was Shakers Roadhouse. We also really loved playing the Pride Music Festival 2022. We can’t wait till next year.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

• I would love to play at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival. With bands like Halestorm, Within Temptation, Evanescence. I think that would be epic.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

• Get a great album that sounds amazing and tour it as much as you can. Get lots of merchandise. Play the small shows until your invited to the big shows. Don’t give up. Be on top of your social media. No one will know about you if you’re just sitting on your couch.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

• Don’t take rejection personally. Just keep getting your music out there no matter what opinions you’re hearing about your music. Just make music you love. Music that is current and it will go places. If you believe it will go places it will.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• The new album I really love the ballad “Goodbye” It could very much be produced as pop. But we added a heavy element that just makes it a true work of art. It will be released in the spring of 2023 with our new album 2000 pieces which will feature the single “State of Mind” that we have released in 2022.

Which songs are your favorite to play, and which get requested the most?

• The best song to play live for us is “Dead Inside” off our 1st album. It’s just heavy and drums are heavy and the vocals are heavy… Everything about Dead inside is heavy and fast and just full of energy. It’s so much fun to perform. The song that gets requested the most is our cover of Sia’s “Chandelier” we released that in 2022. It’s a very heavy version of an amazing pop song but the awesome Sia.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

• Usually, Corey and Steven will start writing a guitar part or a piano part. They will put the music together with different sections. Once they have the bones of the song, they will the call Michelle in to write a melody and lyric over top. If she doesn’t like one of the parts. She will call them back in to fix it. In the end, they end up with some amazing heart-felt tunes that really get you thinking.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

• Michelle tends to write about raw emotion. All those things you say to yourself in your head. That no one else hears. The crazy stuff you would never admit to. That’s what fuels the fire in Circle the Wolves. The music is relatable cause it’s very intimate with the listener. We may never admit we feel that way but when you hear the song you can totally relate.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

• Yea … Actually, having one right now on what the artwork should be for the new album 2000 pieces. We are just talking it out and trying different ideas. Michelle likes to play around with artwork she makes or has done up. Steven has a certain idea of how he wants the next cover to be. Now they must come to a happy medium and decide on what they are going to use.

What are your plans for the future and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

• We plan to release the album 2000 Pieces in the spring of 2023. It will feature our currently single “State of Mind”, “Goodbye” and “2000 Pieces” . This album has a more commercial metal pop feel to it. Album 3, 4 and 5 that are pretty much finished are much harder metal. Michelle really wanted to release the commercial album 1st. So that we can slowly show the world our progression from our first album to the last. We are excited to get these out to the public. We think we have a few hits that everyone will love.

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

• The best way to keep up to date is to join our “Twitter” community. Follow us at @circlethewolves on Twitter , “Instagram” @circlethewolves, “Tik Tok” @circlethewolves, “Facebook” @circlethewovles and on our official website http://www.circlethewolves.com